The Great Wall at Simatai

As Mao Zedong put it down, "You are not a man if you never climbed the Great Wall". Nowadays one could say you're not a real tourist if you haven't been to at least one section of the Great Wall. The separate walls built by independent kingdoms were first linked up under the Qin dynasty (221-207 b.C.), when the first emperor unified China. The building of the first wall, made of rammed earth, required hundreds of thousands of workers and ten years of labour. The bricks and stone slabs that cover the present wall were added during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) over more than a hundred years.

Almost forgotten after the Ming dynasty and torn down by the locals during the Cultural Revolution, when its bricks and stones were used to build houses and military barracks, the wall was then restored to serve the rising tourist industry. The restoration of the Badaling section of the wall, the most famous and crowded, began as early as 1957 - and this is where every travel agent wants to bring you. The Mutianyu section is less crowded but it's too well-mantained and brand-new, too. If you're looking for the real thing then Simatai is your place - but don't wait too much or in the meanwhile the Travel Service could restore it, too, and put a beautiful cable-car to spare you the climbing.

In the two pictures above, we're approaching the entrance of the wall from a small path running along the side of the hill.   On the right: some sections of the wall are so damaged that you can't walk on the top of it. The place is then even more fascinating.

	On the left: the climb from the sixth up to the seventh tower.   As the Lonely Planet guide puts it down, "Simatai is not for the faint-hearted". On the left, the sight from the top of the seventh tower, one of the highest points of the climb.
How to get there: a minibus to Simatai departs at 8 o'clock in the morning from Jinghua Hotel (Beijing, Nansanhuan Xilu) for 60 yuan per person; the trip takes around three hours. It's by far the easiest and fastest way to get there, but you may also want to join some Chinese tour. Travel agents gather in Tian'an Men square to find their customers, but they usually organize tours only to the Badaling section of the wall and to the (quite dull) Ming tombs. Hints and tips: though not dangerous, Simatai doesn't have guard-rails and you'd probably be better off not going after a snowfall - yet, a sunny winter day could make the climb easier than in summer, and visitors will be far less. Then be aware that as soon as your bus arrives, groups of local women will gather around you and your fellow travelers. They are nice to chat with and they will accompany you up the steep climb hoping to sell you postcards or books - if you want to enjoy the loneliness of the place buy something before entering the wall, as they will keep following you until you do.

On the right: a wider perspective of the two sections of the wall, facing each other.   All pictures taken by Diana Lavarini on February, 16, 2000. Camera: Minolta Dynax 500si, 35-70 and 80-210, polarizer.	Left and right: zooming on the Jinshanling section of the Great Wall, across the border between Beijing County and Hebei Province. This section, not so steep as Simatai, is just in front of it; a small bridge on the brook flowing in the valley below divides them.

 

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Sinophilia was born in 1998 as a meeting-point for China-lovers. In these years we have managed to build a database of essential information on the Chinese culture, adding here and there a few more specific essays on Chinese art, history, language and religions, and some useful tools.

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